glad to have you with us. it's friday, september 21. the white house says an individual with linchlgs to al qaeda may have been involved in the attacks on the u.s.

consulate in libya. the september 11 attacks on the consulate in benghazi claimed the lives of the u.s. ambassador to libya and three other u.s. personnel. the attack came as muslim protested a u.s.-made film which they say insults the prophet muhammed. white house press secretary jay carney said the fbi investigation is ongoing. he said the investigators have no information at this point that suggests that the attack was significantly preplanned. carney said that investigators are now looking into al qaeda affiliates, in particular the group known as al qaeda in the islamic magreg. the conflict of interest in syria is causing more human suffering and civilian casualties. opposition activists say 55 people were killed in an explosion at a gas station triggered by a government air strike. amateur video shows the site in the northern city near the turkish border. people are suffering from a serious shortage of daily goods and were lined up at the station

to buy fuel. a day earlier, rebel fighters had seized a location near the city. witnesses say government forces were engaged in a fierce bad with rebel to regain control of the area. a britain-based human rights group says 170 people died on thursday in fighting in the northern city of aleppo and homs in central syria. government soldiers stormed into a hospital, removed many wounded patients, and destroyed medical equipment. japanese coast guard officers are looking out across the east china sea wondering what next. they've been monitoring chinese ships around the senkaku islands. the officers believe the chinese are trying to assert their sovereignty over the islands. coast guard officers said personnel from a chinese fishing monitoring vessels boarded seven chinese fishing boats. they say the inspections took

place inside japan's exclusive economic zone. japanese officials warned the crew of one vessel that japan does not allow foreign enforcement of fisheries law inside the zone. the chinese replied that they were conducting legitimate duties in their exclusive economic zone. chinese vessels have been navigating through the waters since tuesday. japanese officers spotted ten ships in the area thursday evening. they saw several chinese and taiwan ease fishing boats in nearby water. chinese state-run media reported a flotilla of chinese trawlers was on the way, but it has not appeared. chinese leaders aren't backing down. they say the japanese can expect to see more chinese ships around the islands. premiere wen jiabao told official in brusles that government officials have no intention of making even a small concession. and senior communist party members told nepal's deputy prime minister that japan's

purchase of the islands is a serious violation of chinese sovereignty. japanese and chinese companies exchanged billions of dollars in goods and services every year. and some are concerned the rift could affect that trade. we have more now from the business sector. what can you tell us? china is japan's biggest trading partner. econom ts are extremely close. we're seeing sign that tensions is affecting or could be affecting trade between the two countries. chinese customs authorities are apparently tightening checks on imports from japan. many japanese firms doing business are reporting stricter customs clear an for products. the companies say chinese cussoms include blanket inspections on certain items in shanghai. that's instead of just some of theve selected import from japa. they say the customs inspection ratio has been increased in beijing and other cities, as well. the japan external trade

organization's office in china says the chinese authorities have not offered any explanation for the change in clearance procedures. two years ago, china reduced exports of rare earth metals to japan. that was when friction over the senkaku islands escalated between the two countries. south korea's samsung electronics may add apple's new iphone 5 to a patent infringement lawsuit against the u.s. tech giant. document released by a californ court say samsung believes apple's latest smartphone violates its patents. the iphone 5 goes on sale friday. analysts say the case hinge on a high-speed wireless communications proe s protocol s lte or 4-g. apple is using the technology in its new device. samsung owns patents related to lte implementation. the korean company says it plans to study the iphone 5 thoroughly before making a decision. in a separate patent lawsuit

last month, a cifora federal ju ruled in favor of apple. it ordered samsung to pay over $1 billion in damages. a samsung official told n hnhk y are protecting their intellectual property. samsung was accused of hindering market competition. let's check on the markets. the u.s. markets ended mixed. the dow industrial average ended up 0.1% at 13,596. that's the highest level in four years and nine months. while the nasdaq ended lower by 0.2%. earlier, european markets ended lower on signs of continued economic weakness. and so how are tokyo markets kicking off? we go to the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. a bit of caution seems to be returning to the markets. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. some manufacturing data out of china and the eurozone put a drag on markets yesterday, and weekly jobless data out of the

u.s. came in below market consensus. that's further dampened market sentiment. let's look at how markets are opening in tokyo this friday morning. both the nikkei and thetopix higher. the nikkei up to 9,-111. the top yix up 0.2% at 755. the nikkei ended lower yesterday on the stronger yen against the dollar and you areeuro after th of japan announced military easing measures. the nikkei gave up gains from the policy announcement. now with the eurozone's manufacturing data for august coming in at a three-year low, we may see further declines in cyclical stock such as trade, oil, and shipping companies. and also with no major economic daeleased due today, the release of the iphone 5 may just give the market trading direction. we'll be keeping an eye on apple-related stocks. >> other than slowing global growth, there seems to be concerns resurfacing regarding the eurozone. can you tell us more about that?

>> well, it's being conducted in a bond auction yesterday, came in better than expected. the yield on the country's benchmark ten-year sovereign debt rose. that's on the concerns over when spain will apply for international aid from the european union. so spain is keen to avoid being put under international banking super vision. so that's putting some concerns for the markets there. let's look at how that's moving currency markets now. both the dollar/yen at 78.22 to 27. the you are/dollar at 1.29 to 2975. and the you are in a tight range again the yen. euro on pressure of resurfacing concerns over the eurozone debt crisis. worries over greece are also resurfacing as the coalition government failed to reach an agreement on a new awetator package after meeting -- etator package after meeting yesterday. we may see some yen strength today. we'll be keeping an eye on currenties and how the concerns move the markets to date. >> all right. we're about eight minutes into

trading. both the nikkei and tomix in negative territory. that's all for now. to recap the latest market figures -- u.s.-led forces are at war with the islamic group taliban. it's been like that for more than a decade in afghanistan. both sides have publicly refused

to hold peace talks. but behind the scenes, they started negotiating in 2010. nhk has been following this story. and our reporter has been the first to get interviews with members of the taliban's negotiating team. here's the exclusive story. >> reporter: u.s. and taliban negotiators have met at least five times over the past two years. most of the meetings took place in the capital of qatar. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> reporter: the taliban has a five-man negotiating team there. i was able to interview two of them. one of the negotiators was said rasul, a religious leader who is said to have a deep trust over the taliban spiritual leader. >> translator: peace and reconciliation has been our demand for a long time. and it still is even no

weant to ve peace, prosperity, and the reconstruction of afghanistan. >> reporter: taliban negotiators said they and their u.s. counterparts agreed on two conditions for starting full-fledged peace talks. the first was the opening of the representative office for the taliban in qatar. the second was a prisoner exchange involving a u.s. soldier and five senior tiban members. the other taliban negotiator i spoke with was a former diplomat. he says taliban leaders are waiting to parcel peace if they can achieve their goal of re-establishing our islamic government in afghanistan. >> we came to an understanding

that the american side should take steps regarding confidence-building measures. >> reporter: but progress on the proposed talk cas came to a hal. members of the u.s. congress objected to the idea of releasing taliban prisoners. afghan president hamid karzai was unhappy that u.s. and taliban negotiators have met without members of his government. then u.s. special envoy mark grossman presented a new condition. the u.s. wanted the taliban to issue a statement saying it would cut ties to al qaeda an negotiate with the karzai administration. >> translator: al qaeda has no presence in afghanistan, nor have we brought al qaeda to afghanistan. we have no link with it.

>> reporter: but the new u.s. condition proved to be a sticking point. the taliban's negotiators opposed the idea of opening a dialogue with the karzai administration. >>he islamic comnityf afghanistan will talk with the united states about ending the occupation of afghanistan. it is not in the power of the kabul administration. >> reporter: taliban members decided in march this year to suspend their talks with u.s. negotiators. >> translator: from different channels in direct approaches were there, but they were not fruitful. so we suspended the talks from our side. confidence-building measures must be taken to end fighting. i've already said that this war has been imposed on us. >> cease-fire can be a part of

the package of negotiation. we can't breach that. it means if they decide not to talk about afghanistan that they are returning to the military approach. the islamic community will have no option exct to follow the same option to resisting in order to gain the theater. >> reporter: u.s. and taliban negotiators seem to be making progress on finally ending afghanistan's long war. with now the taliban says it's up to the u.s. side to get the talks going again. nhk world. a complete transcript of the interview with taliban negotiators can be found on our web site. the address is there on your screen. the united states and over 30 of its allies are holding

joint naval exercises in the persian gulf. the drill comes after iran's threats to block a vital channel for crude oil. nhk world reports from the "uss dwight d. eisenhower." >> reporter: this aircraft carrier "eisenhower" has more than 60 airplanes that fly around the persian gulf. the commanders of the ships say that if any country wants to or tries to close the strait of histo hormuz, their role is to stay here and make sure it is open. the 12-day maneuvers are the largest ever of such kind held in the persian gulf. nations taking part in this united states-led exercises include japan and britain. iran's government has repeatedly warned that it would close food or shipping routes that run

through the strait of hormuz. the threats are in response it tighter international sanctions targeting iran's nuclear program. the fighter aircraft on this vessel can reach most of iran's nuclear facilities. the u.s. navy is not disclosing the ship's precise location. it appears we are close to the iranian coast. my cell phone is able to pick up a signal from iran. one of the key components of the drill is mine-sweeping operations. iran trails the west in military power. but underwater mines would be an affordable and effective way for the country to block the strait of hormuz. the channel is only 34 kilometers wide.

u.s. military personnel along with japan's maritime self-defense force and troops from other countries are performing drills to detect and remove mines. >> the president has already said that it's a red line if iran closes the strait. so my mission would be to ensure security and stable in case of the strait being closed by any reason. >> reporter: about 1/5 of the world's crude oil travels through the hormuz strait. about 90% of crude bound for japan travels through these waters. iran's leaders show no sign of backing down on their nuclear development program. tensions in the gulf remain high. nhk world, aboard the "uss divide d. eisenhower." citizens have taken to the streets across india to protest a government decision that opens

up the nation's retail market to foreign companies. the government of prime minister singh announced sweeping economic reforms last week. the deregulation opens up india's market to foreign supermarket chains under certain conditions. toogz parti opposition parties criticized the measures which they feel will hurt the retail industry. they called for a strike on thursday. across the country, retailer staged demonstrations and closed their shops in protest. in new delhi opposition party leaders demanded the government retract the legislation. prime minister singh is trying to use the deregulation measures to boost india's slowing economy pie attracting foreign investment. opposition is expected to grow stronger. one of the ruling parties announced plans this week to leave the coalition government. >> a high crt in okinawa on thursday upheld an 18-month prison sentence for a civilian employee of the u.s. military base. he caused a fatal a accident.

the southern prefecture has the highest concentration of the u.s. bases in japan. the court ruled that ruthless ramsey bears heavy responsibility for failing to take basic driving precautions. the presiding judge said the sentence cannot be deemed unreasonably harsh even though the defendant had expressed remorse. ramsey was on duty in okinawa city last year when his car was involved in a collision that killed the driver of the other car. he was initially considered exempt from prosecution by japanese authorities under the japan/u.s. status of forces agreement. but he was later indicted after the two countries decided on a different interpretation of the agreement. thinking small. that could be the slogan for a convention that's going on right now in tokyo. and for the companies taking part, that's not a bad thing at

all. they make electric cars and parts. and many of them believe reducing the size of cars is the best way to reduce the co2 people burn getting from point a to b. nhk world reports. >> reporter: people line up one by one to try out cars that are built for drivers but little else. these electric cars are called ultra-small vehicles. some say this is the future. >> translator: it's easy to control because it's so small. >> translator: i don't go very far. so i would just use it around my neighborhood. it would be great if my grandmother were able to drive it, as well. >> reporter: 260 domestic and foreign companies that make electric vehicles or parts have gathered here to showcase their latest technologies.

>> translator: ultra-small vehicle are creating new business opportunities. we're expecting a big, new market to emerge. >> reporter: many of the participants are small enterprises that are aiming to break to this business. these ultra-small vehicle are drawing more attention because of their eco-friendly and convenient characteristics. and japanese government representatives are encouraging companies to make them. they see tiny automobiles as a way for people to get around in local communities. the entire length of this car is less than two meters. still, it can hit a top speed of 55 kilometers per hour. the company that makes this ultra-small vehicle has been

operating since 2011 from a city in southwestern japan. its parent company is a big pharmaceuticals manufacturer that started the auto business to take advantage of opportunities in the fields of environmental protection and energy conservation. >> translator: many people find our urban transportation networ networks inconvenient. our mission is to improve this and protect the environment and conserve energy. >> reporter: tailoring ultra-small vehicles to specific needs is part of the business. this manufacturer from osaka makes what appears to be an unfinished product. no roof, no windshields, no doors. buyers can customize it to their own tastes. transport ministry officials say they'll classify ultra-small

vehicle as street legal before april, 2013. but they along with manufacturers are concerned about how these automobiles will fare from busy streets in cities such as tokyo. they also worry about the price which could come in around $10,000. still, they say they're committed to facing these challenges head-on. they want drivers to start thinking small and start reducing their impact on the environment. nhk world, tokyo. some say good things come in small packages. all right. there's a storm achurning east of the philippines. rachel ferguson tells us how people are being affected and more in her world weather forecast. you're absolutel right. we have another tropical storm at the end of the work its week here. and it's going to be causing some very heavy rain across the philippines over the weekend.

right now, it is still just a tropical storm. it's moving west at 15 kilometers an hour toward luzan. it's expected to become a typhoon by monday morning before making landfall here. in the meantime, it's going to be strengthening. moving closer to the archipelago and enhancing the southwest monsoon which has been active over the philippines the last several days. we're expecting significant rainfall over the next three days as the storm approaches. we also have more-rain expected. in is monsoonal activity over china. particularly thailand today. south of the river, we're seeing a very developed rain band. that could produce maybe 100 millimeters of rain in some places over the next 24 hours. we'll see showers popping up through central portions of japan today. temperature are coming down a little bit in japan. in tokyo, looking for 29 degrees. but that is still above average for this time of year. other places are starting to

cool. 25 degrees in beijing. 24 here. and still in the low 30s in the tropics, manila, and bangkok. let's go now to north america. really clear skies across much of the continent. high pressure in place all the way through toward the east and to the atlantic coast. however, showers are going to be coming down off of this slow-moving system, coming through ontario. and also florida is in for a soaking. you can even see frequent thunder and lightning and some very strong winds off of this for the next 24 to 48 hours. as i say, the rest of the u.s. is looking pretty clear, indeed. you're going to be noticing a drop in temperatures, though, especially up toward the north. and in fact, central canada, as well. winnipeg just getting up to ten degrees for the high today. in the midwest toward the north you'll be waking up to single-digit lows. and it will be fairly chilly through the weekend. however, as you see, southern locations and up through and toward the pacific northwest, it is going to be warmer. 18 degrees for you in seattle.

that's not bad. 29 in l.a. that's a hot day. 28 for you in - 26, th is, in denver i should say. let's go next to europe. still very wet and windy across the british isles. we've got the frontal system pushing through. it's going to go in toward denmark, as well as northern germany and scandinavia. and then later on during the course of the day, we'll see pretty significant showers developing through central parts of france, as well as germany. the rest of the continent is looking fairly calm and dry. but some nasty storms pushing through the eastern balkans in toward the black sea region today, then showers pushing up through and in toward moscow. temperatures looking around the teens. low to upper teens for the continent. down toward the south, looking fairly warm and a little summery. 28 degrees in athens. 26 in rome. 30 in madrity. 27 in lisbon. you'll be watching for rising temperatures over the weekend. here's your extended forecast. ♪

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.